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Real-time Research as Cases Climb

December 4, 2018

Reports of new Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo keep climbing, but the focus isn’t just on treating the sick—it’s also on transforming the treatment.

Despite the difficulty of working in the conflict-plagued country, researchers are deploying 4 experimental drugs, Sarah Boseley reports in the Guardian. If successful, the new treatments could transform Ebola into a disease that can be treated at home rather than in isolation units. "You could turn Ebola from something that really is feared and horrific in communities to something that is preventable and treatable,” says Wellcome Trust Director Jeremy Farrar.

As of yesterday, DRC’s case count was up to 444, CIDRAP reported, while Médecins Sans Frontières expressed particular concern over the virus’s spread to Butembo. After the US CDC's withdrawal, medical experts appealed for their return last week but WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the WHO can cover the fight—though US financial assistance is still needed. (ICYMI: See this JAMA commentary.)